Our ancestors (like the life-like figure pictured) used a network of small caves for occasional hunting expeditions before returning to a larger base, which they called home, new excavations have found

Neanderthals were a house-proud race who liked to return to a comfortable home after a long day of hunting, excavations of caves in Gibraltar have revealed.

The new research found that our ancestors used a network of small caves for occasional hunting expeditions before returning to a larger base, which they called home.

Scientists from Oxford University and Gibraltar museum worked together on the dig.

They unearthed stone tools and camp fires featuring the remains of seals, ibex and red deer, dating back more than 24,000 years.

By analysing the artefacts and the density in which they were found in each cave, a team of scientists was able to determine which site was used for what purpose.

Among the tools found were hammers, scrapers and shucks for opening shellfish, another staple of the Neanderthal diet.

The population would have foraged locally along a coastal plain, eating a varied diet including wild boar, rabbits, dolphins, birds, tortoises, fish and pine nuts.

Gibraltar was inhabited by Neanderthals for 100,000 years, with radiocarbon dating suggesting they lived on the Rock possibly as recently as 24,000 years ago.

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The peninsula was the final stronghold of the early descendants of man and is where one of the first discoveries of Neanderthal skeletal remains was made in the 19th century.

Gorham's Cave, the largest of those excavated by the scientists from Gibraltar Museum and Oxford University, was also once home to hyenas.

An artist's drawing of a 30,000-year-old hyena den. Archeologists found hammers, scrapers and shucks for opening shellfish at Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar but did not find large bones, indicating that our ancestors were good at housekeeping

'Gorham's Cave has a denser, more continuous sequence of lithic artefacts, with greater organic content in its sediments, corroborating the notion that the cave was more heavily utilised,' according to the paper published in the PLoS One journal.

'The paucity of large vertebrate remains from Gorham's Cave has been interpreted to be a consequence of housekeeping, thus implying longer-term occupation.

'Gorham's Cave is the largest of the four caves, and its high ceiling and exposure to sunlight make it the most suitable for habitation.

Another recent study revealed that Neanderthals were a house-proud race who liked to return to a comfortable home after a long day of hunting, excavations of caves in Gibraltar (pictured) have revealed

The paper said: 'The dichotomy in occupation intensity between Gorham's and the other caves, suggests the southern Iberian Neanderthals may have practised a mobility pattern in which hominins would temporarily occupy various sites during the course of foraging, but would regularly return to a particular hub locality, such as Gorham's.'

Excavations in Vanguard Cave - a sister to Gorham's Cave - show climatic evidence of alternating periods of drought and heavy rainfall, according to The Gibraltar Chronicle.

The annual excavation of Gorham's Cave begins next week.

Further finds could add to the call for a Neanderthal theme park, which would tell the story of our ancestors' way of life.